1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a reproduction apparatus for selectively outputting an image signal from a recording medium on which digital data representing image Information is recorded.
2. Description of the Related Art
Due to recent development in technologies, optical disks having an information capacity eight times that of a video CD have been developed, and consequently optical disk reproduction apparatuses are attracting attention as new AV (audio-visual) apparatuses. As a result, studies have been conducted on applications of optical disks for allowing a user to select a predetermined image, out of multiple hours of image information, in an interactive manner.
Hereinafter, a method for selecting a predetermined image from a plurality of images by using a menu will be described.
FIG. 5 schematically illustrates an exemplary conventional optical disk reproduction system. The optical disk reproduction system includes an optical disk reproduction apparatus 51 and a display 52 such as a television set.
The optical disk reproduction apparatus 51 is controlled by means of a remote controller 53. The optical disk reproduction apparatus 51 reproduces image information recorded on an optical disk (not shown) and the display 52 displays the reproduced image information.
Menu information for allowing the selection of one of a plurality of items is recorded on the optical disk. As the optical disk reproduction apparatus 51 reproduces the menu information, a menu is displayed on the display 52. The user selects one of the items contained in the menu by using the remote controller 53. For example, in the case where the menu exhibits a set of numbers correspondingly indicating the respective items, the user may press a key on the remote controller 53 that has the same number as the number of one of the indicated items to select the desired item from among the plurality of items in the menu. Alternatively, the user may press up/down/right/left keys on the remote controller 53 to cause a corresponding movement of a highlighted region which is displayed over the menu, and then press a decision key on the remote controller 53 to select the highlighted item from the items in the menu.
Next, a method for selecting one of a plurality of so-called "angles" (e.g., images respectively corresponding to different perspectives of the same scene or images respectively corresponding to different scenes) will be described. Such a plurality of "angles" are interleaved on the optical disk on which they are recorded, with different numbers being assigned to different "angles". When the optical disk reproduction apparatus 51 reproduces the data which is recorded in this manner, the motion pictures from only one "angle" are reproduced. During the reproduction of the motion pictures from that "angle", the user can press a number key on the remote controller to select another "angle" corresponding to that number, whereby the motion pictures from that "angle" will begin to be reproduced.
However, the above-described prior technique of selecting one of a plurality of items contained in a menu by pressing a number key of a remote controller is not very interactive. Similarly, the above-described prior technique of selecting one of a plurality of "angles" during the reproduction of the motion pictures from only one "angle" is not very interactive because the user needs to know in advance when it is possible to select from a plurality of "angles", i.e., when such "angles" are available. Therefore, a function for allowing an effective selection of menu items or "angles" is desired.